


Blonde Angel

by Thepandicorn



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-19 04:13:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19349272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thepandicorn/pseuds/Thepandicorn
Summary: Content Warning: (possibly) Graphic scenes of abuse, mentions of suicidal thoughtsNico di Angelo had a rough home life filled with abuse and torture. He wishes he were dead and constantly wonders why he had to be stuck with the bad family and the bad life. His circumstances somehow get out to all of his friends, despite how hard he's tried to keep a secret because he knows there's nothing he could do. He doesn't let anyone try to help him because it fails every time he tries something and his situation only gets worse.Everything changes, however, when he gets  paired up with a handsome blonde by the name of Will Solace for a school project. Do things change for the better or for worse?





	1. Chapter 1

“Nico, you can’t go home like this.” Percy said, trying to dissuade me from going home tonight. “You can come stay with me tonight. Mom and Paul won’t mind you staying over.”

“Percy, I can't.” I said, shifting the wad of tissue I held to my bloody nose. I had a bloody nose, a black eye, and several bruises both caused by the fight i was just as well as from my father the previous night. “I just can’t.”

“Why? He’ll get really upset about you getting in a fight. You can call him and let him know you’re staying the night or something.” I suddenly stopped, turning to look at my cousin as i pulled the tissue away from my nose and just let the blood drip freely onto the concrete at our feet. I wanted to call him stupid and shout at him for not understanding, but i couldn’t blame him

“I just fucking can’t, Percy! You don’t understand.” I said. I hesitated a moment before i finally spoke again. “Do you remember, last year, that night i ended up in the hospital with all those injuries? I was in there for a week?”

“Yeah. of course i remember it. Hades said he’d come home and found you like that, but it didn’t really make sense. You didn’t disagree so i believed him.” Percy was being so naive.

“Well, do you want to know the truth? I didn’t deny what he said because he’s the one who hurt me. He’s the one person who i’ve ever and will ever be afraid of.”

  
  
  


_ “Nico di-fucking-Angelo! Get your ass down here right fucking now!” I flinched as i heard the shouts from downstairs coming from the one person i feared more than anything in the world. Oh, how i desperately wanted to stay silent or hide under my bed, away from him. I’d done it before, when i was younger and Bianca and Mama were still alive, before we left Italy. I couldn’t do that anymore, no matter how much i wished i could, because he would always find me, no matter how silent i was or how still i stayed. If i hid, he’d just hurt me worse than he was already going to. All i could hope for was that maybe next time, he’d forget about me or what i had or hadn’t done.  _

_ As I slowly pushed away from my desk-bracing myself for what was, inevitably, to come-i tried to wrack my brain for what I had done wrong, only to come up empty. I didn’t know what i had or hadn’t done that i should of and the anticipation for finding out was going to kill me faster than he was. My hands were shaking as I stood up and i clenched them into fists and shoved them into my pockets to hide the shaking as I nudged my door the rest of the way open and stepped out into the hallway at the top of the stairs. _

What did you do? What didn’t you do? _ I screamed internally as i tried to remember, to come up with some excuse for whatever it was that would help keep him from hurting me as bad but i couldn’t remember anything-as far as i could, i had done everything I was supposed to and then some, in hopes of keeping him off my back. I unloaded the dishwasher, I loaded it, I swept and mopped, I cleaned the bathroom, I wiped down the windows, I'd done everything I was supposed to do and then some, even doing the laundry early. I was terrified and I was trying not to have a panic attack just below the surface. _

_ Papa was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me. His pale face was red with anger and his arms were crossed over his chest. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground in front of him like he always did-as if i were some sort of dog and he were telling me to come here. I took a deep breath as I walked down the stairs. _

_ The moment I was within range, he lashed out, grabbing my ankle and yanking my legs out from under me. I feel my head his the carpeted stairs and, as I was pulled the rest of the way down with my skull bouncing off the stairs, my vision blacked out for a second and was blurry when my head finally hit the hard tile at the bottom of the stairs and I tasted the coppery flavor of blood-i must’ve but my tongue. _

_ I felt weightless for several seconds and I realized he had picked me up off the floor, only to then slam me into the nearest wall. He was holding me by my neck and squeezing in a painful way that caused me to gasp for air and my eyes to bulge. My hands were trapped in my pockets, useless. I’d made a big mistake putting them in there.  _

_ As he slammed me into the wall a second time, i felt blood trickle down the back of my neck and my vision again goes blank for a couple seconds-my ears are ringing a little. _

_ “You worthless fucking faggot! You don’t fucking deserve to live! You should have died in that car accident! It should have been you, not her! Bianca should have lived! Not you!” I knew what he meant. He wished, just like i wished, that i had died in that car accident that killed Bianca and mama. He wished Bianca was still here and not me. I wished Bianca were here rather than me because he’d never hurt her like he hurt me. _

_ Right as I thought I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, he released me. I was dizzy and I fell to the floor on my hands and knees, gasping for air. I stayed like that and watched, with my eyes trained on the ground, as he started to turn and walk away only  turn back around at the last second and drive his foot into my face repeatedly, nearly breaking my nose and certainly bruising my jaw bone and popping it out of place. He tangled his hands into my hair as he wrenched my head back to look at him before jamming his knee into my face, giving me a black eye and a cut on my forehead as blood poured from my nearly broken nose onto the white carpet-we’d entered the living room at some point and I only just no realized it. _

_ “Clean it up!” he growled, releasing me as he kicked me as hard as he could in the side-i think i felt a couple ribs break. I tried to stand up, i really did so he’d stop, but my legs gave out and I swallowed back bile as i tried again only for him to hit me and cause me to black out. _

 

“And I don't remember anything after that until you, Sally, Paul, and little Estelle were by my side in the hospital before he kicked you out.” Percy stared at me in shock-complete and utter shock.

“He’s...i mean...i knew he had anger issues but i didn’t know...i didn’t know he hurt you...like that.” He didn’t know what to say, not really.

“You can’t tell anyone he does this kind of thing, Percy. He forbade me from telling anyone. I-if...if…” I took a deep breath to steady myself. “If he finds out I told  _ anyone _ , I can kiss my ass goodbye. I’m not kidding,”

“Nico, we can help if you let us...we...we can call the cops, something.”

“No we can’t, Percy. You don’t understand.  _ We _ can’t do anything.” I had always felt like i was two inches tall compared to my father. While he was nearly six foot six inches tall, i barely hit five foot three.

“Nico, you have to do something..if you call the cops-”

“It’ll do nothing. I know because i;ve called before and he bribes them in ways unimaginable. He bribes them and when they go file out reports its something along the lines of false alarms or that i got in a fight or someone jumped me. But he never gets caught. Things aren’t going to change anytime soon.” I turned and started to walk away but Percy suddenly grabbed my wrist and kept me from going any farther.

“Percy, let me go!” I shouted, trying to pull my wrist out of his grasp but he had me in a pretty good hold.

“Nico, I can't let you go back! Not when he’s gonna hurt you again!”

“Let me go! You’re just going to make it worse and get me in even more trouble!” I yanked harder and successfully freed my wrist from his grasp as I backed away.

“I should never have told you.” I spat angrily, my voice laced with venom. “Tell anyone and you’ll see just how fast i kill you, cousin or not.” I turned around and kept walking in the direction of home but not without stopping at the nearest gas station to clean myself up in the bathroom first.


	2. Chapter 2

When I got home, his car was in the driveway and I felt my stomach sink into the center of the earth. Him being home early could mean one of three things: he got off early for whatever reason and was home (not exactly good), he’d had a bad day, came home early, and was going to use me as a punching bag (not good), or he’d found out about something I did and came home early (really really not good.)  
I took a deep breath, checking myself in the reflection of my three year old, cracked up phone screen to ensure i looked no worse than i had this morning-i didn’t-before i walked across the street and quietly slipped inside in case he was sleeping or doing something important. It was pretty rare, but sometimes he did bring home work and if I interrupted him...well, we all know how that would go.  
“I..I’m home…” I called out quietly-just loud enough for someone to hear me if they were awake but quiet enough not to wake anyone if they were asleep. I glanced around, trying to figure out where he might be as I stood at the door. Before I could react, i felt a plastic bag being thrust into my arms and i looked up only long enough to see the look on his face before taking the bag so he could remove his hand  
“Go shower and get dressed. We’re going out to dinner.” He said, lingering a moment before removing his hand and walking away. I was so shocked and scared that i didn’t exactly know what to do or hat this could mean. The last time i could remember going out for a meal with him was back before we lost mama and Bianca and we went to Mcdonalds to get ice cream and lunch. That was six years ago.  
I took my shoes off by the door and set them on the shoe rack next to the door. It was empty, minus my only pair of shoes-an old pair of beat up vans that were half a size too small and nearly falling apart at the seams-because Papa never put his shoes on the rack any more after Mama died in the car crash. It had always been a fight to get him to do it when she was around, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise when he just stopped all together.   
I quietly walked up the stairs to my room and pushed my door shut as I set the bag onto my bed and looked inside. It contained a grey, almost black button up, a pair of matching skinny jeans, and a new pair of shoes that were actually in my size. All of it was nicer than anything else I owned. All the pairs of jeans in my closet had frayed holes in the knees and up the thigh a little and were really old. Most of my shirts were almost thread bare too, with a couple holes and rips I'd had to sew up and they were all band tees I'd managed to get at thrift shops when I'd managed to scrounge up a couple bucks since he didn’t ever give me money to get what I needed. I didn’t know what the occasion was that made him suddenly decide to get me clothes or who we were going out to eat with, why it mattered, or why I had to be there, but I knew better than to question him.   
After a short shower, just long enough to use some soap on my body and get my hair damp enough to tidy it up, I went back to my room to get dressed. I tugged on the jeans and then the shirt, rolling up the sleeves and buttoning them into place. I looked at myself in the mirror. The pants fit in the right way and, while the shirt was loose, it wasn’t too big and it didn’t show my ribs like some of my shirts did. I looked clean and nice, cleaner than I had since I could remember. Next, I dug through my drawer for a pair of socks that were the least holey and then put the shoes on over them. They were just slightly too big, but I suppose it was a good thing, since I knew I was still likely to grow just a little more in my life and then I'd have them for a while.   
I still had a fading bruise around my eye from the other day when he hit me and I didn't actually get a black eye from that fight earlier, which was good. Before I went down stairs, I took a moment to use a bit of makeup to hide the fading bruise and the few on my arms too.

“Did you hide them?” He asks when i’m barely halfway down the stairs. I can see he’s leaning over the counter with his back to me, probably typing away on his phone.  
“Y-yes, sir. I did.” I said as I made it to the last step and he turned around to look at me. I ducked my head a little and kept my eyes trained on the ground at his feet-anywhere but his face was a good place to look. I could feel his almost black colored eyes-the same one’s eye had-raking over me like lasers boring into my soul for a long moment before he finally spoke, breaking the silence.  
“Get in the car.”

It was a long car ride and I sat stiffy the whole time, keeping my hands in my lap and my body tucked in close so that the only points my body came in contact to the car with were my back, my butt and thighs, and where my feet touched the floor. It was hard to relax and not seem tense as I sat not even two feet away from him and well within arms reach where he could easily hurt me if he wanted to. We rode in complete silence for about half an hour until he finally spoke.  
“Ground rules: Don’t embarrass me.” It took a couple seconds for my brain to process that he was speaking in Italian-it was something he hadn’t done since we lost Mama and Bianca six years ago. “That means don’t talk unless spoken to, don’t talk about...your...condition…”He sighed a little and switched back to English. As i glanced over out of the corner of my eye and saw his eye twitch slightly, i knew what he meant by “condition.” He was referring to my sexuality-to me being gay.  
“This is important and if you fuck this up for me…” He didn’t say more and he didn’t need to. I understood completely.  
“I won’t, sir...i understand…” I said quietly as I stared at the dashboard in front of me.  
“Good. We’re here, so get out.” He pulled into a parking lot outside of a nice restaurant-Red Lobster (a/n i don’t think ive ever been there). I slowly got out of the car and closed my door as he did the same. As we slowly walked up to the building, a woman in a flower dress with a tulip tucked behind her ear came up and immediately hugged my father while pressing a kiss to his cheek. I could see Papa’s whole demeanor shift and he actually smiled a little as he hooked an arm around her waist-so they were dating.  
“Oh! You must be Nico. Hades mentioned we’d be meeting soon.” She smiled and suddenly broke away from my father, pulling me into a hug. I tensed but forced myself to hug back no matter how much I hated physical contact because the fear of my father outweighed everything I disliked by 1000%. “I’m Persephone.” she said with a smile as she pulled back.  
“Like the goddess.” I said before I could help myself.  
“Just like the goddess. And spring is my favorite season. Kinda ironic, isn’t it.”

It was a long dinner and I mostly sat in silence while they talked unless Persephone happened to try and talk to me, which was something my father hadn’t bothered to do.   
How did someone as bad as him get someone as good as her? I thought to myself.  
“So, Nico, tell me a little bit about yourself. It’s only right since we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other.” She smiled at me as she took a drink of her water  
“I...Like what? T-there’s not really much to tell…” I said, not knowing what would and wouldn’t piss Papa off.  
“Well, are you seeing anyone? Maybe a pretty girl?  
“No...no girl.” I shook my head.  
“What about a cute guy? As long as you’re happy with who you’re dating, i don’t think it matters if you’re dating a guy or a girl.” So, unlike my father, she wasn’t homophobic which was, i suppose, a good thing.  
“N-no...i-i’m not seeing anyone, currently.” I couldn’t help but blush a little as she suggested a guy and I merely hoped Papa wouldn’t notice.

After a couple of hours, we were finally done with dinner and the desert they eaten. Papa had asked me if I wanted any-only because she was here, no doubt- but I politely declined in case it was only an empty offer so he wouldn’t get angry later. I remember saying goodbye to Persephone and then getting in the car to go home but not really anything else because I don't remember anything after that besides waking up in my bedroom at some point in the middle of the night. I must’ve fallen asleep in the car or something, but I was still confused because i was in my bed. He sure didn’t wake me up and make me come inside because i would have remembered that, so he must’ve carried me, which was kinda weird because he hadn’t done that since I was little. Maybe he was just in a good mood, a really really good mood or something.


	3. Chapter 3

When I woke up the next morning, I quickly changed out of what I wore last night and put on one of my band tees and a pair of jeans. I kinda like the ripped up look, honestly. It was an aesthetic, totally and that's coming from someone who doesn’t care much for aesthetics. I just liked the way they looked at me but it was nice to have a pair of jeans I could wear when I had to look cleaner. I laced up my new pair of shoes and grabbed my bag as I quietly opened my door in case it decided to creak and Papa was asleep. I pulled my phone off the charger by the door and stuffed into my pocket as I shouldered my backpack. I slowly walked down the stairs, since some of them liked to creak at random.

I sighed in relief as I grabbed my keys from where I’d hung them by the shoe rack and noticed that the other pair was no longer there. I was so confused but I decided it was better not to dwell on it as I set my bag down and pulled on my aviator jacket from the coat rack. I took a glance around the living room and into the kitchen. I noticed a box sitting on the counter and I slowly walked over, treading lightly as I’d learned to during these past six years. I first noticed the note sitting next to the box and decided to look at that before seeing the contents of the box

“What is happening?” I mumbled to myself as I picked up the note. It had my name written on but what was weird about getting left a note was the fact that Papa never left me notes before. I unfolded it and started to read it but paused-it was written in Italian and it had been years since he had ever written in it. We’d been in Italy when I was younger so he wrote in Italian but after we lost Mama and Bianca, we moved to America and he stopped altogether. Why was he suddenly doing it again? I kept reading once the initial shock was over. It was really hard to read because Italian wasn’t his first language like it was mine and so he was struggling to write and so it took me several minutes to decipher it before I finally knew what he was trying to say

Nico,

_ I’ll be on a business trip for a few days. Keep the house clean, do what you’re supposed to. Don’t let me come back to find the place trashed. Eat, but make it last the week. _

 

_ I sighed a little as I set the note down and looked at the box. It was a small box that had a few food items in it: a ziplock bag with uncooked noodles in it, a half-empty jar of sauce that was probably from the last time I ate pasta, a Ramen cup, and a couple granola bars. I sighed a little as I took the still cold jar of sauce out of the box and put it in the mini fridge we had on the counter that was for me to put whatever he’d allowed me in to keep it cold and then the rest of the stuff as well, even though it didn’t need to be refrigerated because, if it was left on the counter and he happened to come back before he left for a forgotten item, I knew he’d throw it away and I’d go hungry _

“At least we don’t have to deal with him…” I mumbled to myself as I finally left. It meant that I could do whatever I wanted until he came back as long as I cleaned up and came home just in case he’d come back early or whatever.

  
  


At school, I walked to my locker and was fidgeting with that I had inside mostly to kill time before I had to be in class when I happened to hear someone calling me.

“Nico!” It was Percy. I shifted the strap of my backpack higher onto my shoulder and closed my locker as I turned and walked in the opposite direction of my cousin. I used to have a crush on Percy but then I found out we were cousins shortly after and immediately the emotions left because that's just gross. 

“Nico, wait!” He called after me but I merely stuffed my half broken earbuds into my ears and ducked my head under someone’s arm as they told their friend something and disappeared into the crowded hallways like I was good at doing. I slid into my seat in the back of first period and rested my forehead on my arms as I stared at the ground.

I didn’t know how much time had passed but I eventually felt a tap on my arm. I yanked one earbud from my ears and was about to shout at Percy to leave me alone and get to class as I lifted my head but the words died in my throat. This wasn’t Percy. He had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a surfer-like tan as well as freckles that dusted his nose and below his eyes. He was wearing a casual tee and cargo shorts with a backpack hanging half off of one shoulder.

“What?” I snapped since it was rare anyone ever came up to me to talk besides Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, Leo, Piper, or Jason.

“You weren’t listening, were you? We got paired up for a group project due Friday. We have three days to get it done.” He said, smiling a little, not at all phased by my rude behavior. My mind went blank for a few seconds because, on my gods, his smile fucking broke my gay ass for a second there.”I’m Will Solace. I actually just moved to this school today” He stuck his hand out, obviously for a handshake, but I just looked at it until he dropped his hand back to his side. 

“What’s the project supposed to be about?” I asked, although I really didn’t care. I had a B in the class and not doing one assignment wouldn’t hurt me. As long as I kept my grades above a D, Papa didn’t care.

“I was thinking we could do Rome. It's supposed to be an ancient civilization or empire.” He said as he slid into the empty seat adjacent me and pulled a laptop out of his backpack. It was decorated with several band stickers ranging anywhere from MCR to random pop bands I didn’t know as well as a few college stickers for what looked like med schools. I glanced around at his screen as he clicked open Chrome and saw that his background was a picture of him standing between a guy with short blonde hair, brown eyes and an almost mischievous aura about him and a girl who had long black hair, green eyes, and a really friendly aura about her. They had their arms thrown around his shoulders and it was clear they were best friends.

“Cecil and Lou,” he said suddenly as he glanced up at me and then back at the webpage that had finally opened up. 

“Huh?” I asked.

“I saw you looking at my background. Their names are Cecil and Lou. They’re my best friends.” He smiled a little bit. 

  
  


Come lunchtime a few hours later, I was hungry and I could feel my stomach growling and begging for food. It’s been over twelve hours since I’d last eaten and I was without food, like always. Percy had taken to bringing me lunch the past year, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him after what happened yesterday so asking him was out of the question. Even asking one of the others would result in everyone else making me stay and I really didn’t want to be around any of them. 

As I looked around and attempted to find a place to sit, I heard someone call out to me and I saw Will waving from a mostly empty table. I sighed a little and I quickly weighed my options, thinking. On one hand, I could go back to the table with those who considered themselves my friends where Percy had, undoubtedly, told them about Papa. On the other hand, I could go and set with Will who was someone who would, undoubtedly, want to be my friend yet knew nothing about me or my life and would probably pester me with questions when he found out even the slightest bit of information. It was a risk I had to take.

Sighing, I adjusted the strap of my bag and walked over to Will as I sat down, pushing the thought of hunger from my mind as I did. I set my bag on the seat next to me so no one would try to sit there and leaned on my arms against the table.

“Hi,” I said simply.

“Hey,” he said with a half, crooked smile. It was noticeably genuine but it obviously wasn’t his usual smile that seemed to break my brain. “So, I meant to ask earlier but you left class to fast for me to ask. Are you available after school one of these days to work on our project? I figured that since we’re presenting on Monday, we can work in and outside of class to get it done faster and then use Friday to practice and make finishing touches.” I sighed a little as I thought. He did have a point. Getting it done faster would allow for more time to adjust or even just goof off like I probably would. Most people goofed off until the last minute and panicked while getting a terrible grade but I worked consistently the first day and a half while doing nothing the rest while still getting a decent grade. Like a low B or whatever. Just enough to keep Papa happy.

“I’m free all week. Not like I’m ever busy.” I shrugged and i mentally cursed when I heard my stomach growl. Heard, not felt. So it was loud.

“Are you hungry?” He asked, suddenly reaching into his lunch box and pulling out another sandwich and Ziploc of chips that he immediately set in front of me.

“I am but i don't want your food.” I started to say, pushing them back at him only for him to gently grabbed my wrist and move my hand away while simultaneously pushing the food back at me. 

“My ma always packs extra in case anyone is in need of food,” he said, smiling. “One of my old friends didn’t have enough money to be able to have lunch every day so she always packed extra and kept doing it, even after they moved schools and then after I moved schools. It's a habit of hers.” 

“What’s in it?” I asked as I pulled my hand back and picked up the sandwich, peeling open the wrapping.

“Just turkey and cheese. Nothing with nuts or anything and you can pull of the cheese if you’re allergic to dairy. And then it's just plain Lay’s.” He said as he took a bite of his sandwich. Normally, I'd be the person to insist on not taking a relative stranger’s food but he was clearly going to be insistent and didn’t seem to be lying when he said his mom packed extra, so I figured that it was pointless to protest or deny and peeled back the wrapping the rest of the way and took a bite out of the sandwich. There was nothing special about it-it tasted just like any other turkey sandwich I'd had before-but it was nice to actually have food for the first time today. I was so hungry, that it took all my willpower not to just devour it and give away just how hungry i was. I ate slow, no matter how hard it was to do so.

“Thank you for the food,” I said finally, realizing I had said nothing to show my gratitude.

“No prob. Just curious, but where are you from? You have a cool accent.” He smiled some.

“Italia,” I said. ‘Italy. I grew up in Italy until i was ten.” 

“That's cool. So I guess that’s probably why you know so much about Rome without having to do research. Whats Italy like?”

“Well, i was born in Venice and I never really got to go anywhere else that I remember. It's mostly a water city-just like it's known for. Gondolas-water taxis-to get around. Food is a bit expensive from what i remember and most of the time if you want sit down service, it's an extra charge, but it's like that everywhere because it's more common to buy your food and interact with everyone else there or buy and leave.  Tourists are mostly the ones who sit down. You do have to watch for pick-pockets. They sure go after tourists.” I honestly didn't know why i was telling Will, a near stranger, about my life or where I was from, but he seemed trustworthy enough and I suppose it didn't really matter. No one could ever do anything worse than what Papa was already doing to me as it is.

“What about you, where are you from?”

“Texas. We moved when I was nine because my dad wanted to work at a better hospital that paid better and my mom said we’d go with him and she became a police officer up here.”

“Whats texas like?” Will hesitated a moment before sighing and shaking his head.

“It has a lot of mixed race people and Latinx people but so does the rest of the world. After i left, a learned that its an extremely homophobic and transphobic state, despite having Pride events like the rest of the US. They want transgender people to have to use the bathroom that fits with the gender they were assigned at birth and have to use the name they were born with and they don’t support same-sex marriage, even if it is technically legal.” He sighed again and shook his head. “It's not a place i ever want to be after knowing all those things.”

“That's sucks, i guess. If it makes you feel any better, its legal here in New York and many other states.”

“That's true, so it's not all bad, I guess.” He smiled a little, glancing at his watch. “Lunch is almost over, I think. What class do you have next?”

“Algebra with Ms. Smith.” I curled my lip slightly. “I hate that class.”

“Because of the teacher? Or is it hard? I have Geometry with her for second period and English after this but Ms. Smith doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“It's not her. I just don't see how this is going to help me in the future. I mean, I don't even know how to do taxes or buy a house or things like that I'm going to need to know how to do. Algebra 2 is pointless.”

“Well, I agree, but I could help you if you want. I’m pretty good at math and you definitely need that to be a doctor.”

  
  


Math was as boring as ever and I eventually fell asleep. Not because I was tired, but because it was boring, I didn't understand anything, and no one would help me or explain things. I was always ignored by everyone and assumed to be the person who was really smart when I wasn't. English was just as boring. We’d just finished reading Bless Me, Ultima and we were watching the movie so I spent the time on my phone since i was in the back of the class and no one would notice-especially with my brightness all the way down, my head resting on my arm on the table, and the phone under it. I couldn’t wait for the day to be over and done with. 

My last class was Spanish. Spanish was the only class i held a solid A+ in. Spanish was easy for me since it was actually really similar to Italian-although sometimes I accidentally confused the two- and it was 10x easier to learn than English, which was completely different than Italian. Mrs. Fisher was nice and she said she might be taking leave soon since she was pregnant and due in a couple months. She made the comment she wanted to name her kid Flame. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not but it didn't matter. It was her kid and if she wanted to name her kid flame and her husband let her, then why should it matter?

 

As I walked through the hall at the end of the day, I could hear the usual remarks and whispers at me as friends talked and gossiped while waiting for their rides or the buses to show up.

“Faggot!” someone shouted, chucking a wad of wet toilet paper at me. Someone-i doesn’t know-who happened to overhear the day i told my friends and it quickly spread around the whole school because they were an ass and couldn’t respect someone’s privacy like a normal person with common sense. I dodged the TP as it splattered on the window behind me and kept going, not caring as i stuffed my headphones in. I almost walked out and headed home on autopilot until i remembered that Will and i were going over to his house to work on our Rome project. I lingered by the door on my phone, reading but ignoring the tests from Percy. It wasn’t like he’d know if i read them or not. Finally, Will came out of the building, smiling at me as i tugged my headphones from my ears.

“Ma said she'd pick us up and she’ll take us home. She was on her way back from the store and was gonna drop off the food before heading to work.” I nodded a little but didn’t say anything as he suddenly motioned for me to follow him as he walked to a car.

“Hey, Ma.” He said as he got in the front and gestured for me to get in the back.

“Hey, sweetheart.” She smiled a little at him. She looked a lot like him. It was clear he got his freckles from her as well as his eyes. Her hair was brown and wavy while his was blonde and wavy, so he must’ve gotten the color from his dad.

“You must be Nico. Will mentioned you.” She smiled at me in the mirror as I clipped my seatbelt in place and she pulled out of the parking lot. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yeah. it's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Solace.”

“Please, call me Naomi.” She smiled a little.

 

(short third POV bc idk)

 

“Well, we’re almost done with what we wanted to work on today. We could stop and continue working tomorrow.” Will said, stretching his arms over his head as a series of noises erupted from his back as he stretched and the cartilage popped. 

“Nico?” he asked, glancing over at the small Italian who seemed to have fallen asleep next to him-his arms was crossed on the table and his head rested on them, eyes closed, and breathing softly. Will smiled ever so softly as he hesitantly reached over to brush a piece of hair from the brunet’s eyes, only to pull back when Nico shifted and mumbled something before blinking his brown eyes open and lifting his head up. He quickly looked around, as if reassuring himself of where he was, before relaxing and looking at Will in the dim light from the overhead lamp with a light bulb everyone was too lazy to replace even though it was on its last leg.

“What time is it?” 

Will glanced at the clock on his laptop and his eyes widened. “Damn, it's Nine. We worked a lot later than we meant.”

“Well, you’re the one who wanted to get it done.” Nico yawned, reaching for a now cold slice of pizza from the box sitting in front of them on the table and taking a bite only to curl his lip slightly at the cold texture. He shrugged and kept eating, not exactly caring anymore.

“I didn’t mean to work this late. It's late. You should spend the night.” Will said, only trying to be nice.

“I should go home, that’s what I should do,” Nico said, pushing back from the table with the half-finished slice of pizza in his hand.

“I don't want you walking home in the dark and there's no one to drive you home...unless you call your dad. Someone could jump you or something.”

“He’s on a business trip for the next week or so and I’ve been through worse than walking home in the dark at nine in the evening. Good night, Will.” Before any more could be said, Nico picked up his bag and shouldered it as he walked out the front door, ignoring anything else Will might have had to say by shoving his earbuds into his ears and turning on a random MCR song on full volume.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days were uneventful. All I really did was finish my project with Will and then i more or less went back to my normal routine. I did my chores, I ignored everyone and everything and I still got used as my dad’s punching bag when he got home, super angry about something that didn’t concern me at all.

I was left on the ground, curled in a ball covered various injuries ranging from a black eye all the way to a sprained wrist. It hurt to breathe and I assumed that it was because he had punched me in the gut really hard, knocking the air out of my lungs.  I stayed on the ground in the fetal position for a long time after I heard his bedroom door slam shut and long after i heard him finish up in the shower. I didn’t want to risk anything worse happening to me. 

Once i was sure he must’ve been asleep, I tried to get up, wincing deeply  from how bad my bruises were. I half limped, half dragged myself up the stairs and into my bathroom, bracing myself against the sink as I looked in the mirror. I had a black eye that was nearly swollen shut (explaining why I was having a hard time seeing), a dark crimson bruise on my jaw and cheek bones as well as several other bruises along my neck and throat from where he’d held me too hard. I had blood still dripping down my nose and I grabbed a tissue to stuff in my nose and prevent it from getting everywhere. I had used my hoodie to mop it up when I was laying down and I just hopped it would stop soon. Fifteen minutes so far and it hadn’t stopped. I had another five to go before it might be serious. I went back into my room after cleaning up a little bit and my nose finally not bleeding anymore. 

 

The next morning, Papa wasn’t home when I was getting ready to leave for school. It still hurt to breathe but there was nothing I could do about it. I pulled on one of my pairs of jeans and my Skillet hoodie. I made sure I had everything I needed before going downstairs and pulling my shoes on and leaving. I didn’t bother to hide my bruises on my face-i knew I could chalk it up to a fight if anyone asked

Today, Will and I were supposed to be presenting our project and-knowing his father was a doctor-i hoped he wouldn’t ask too many questions. I wasn’t going to answer any of them.

 

It took me twenty minutes to walk to school and i kept my head low as i went to my locker and then to class. Will was already there, sitting what had become our usual spot while working on the project.

“Oh my gods! Nico, what happened?” He jumped up, being his worried self as he started to reach out to grab hold of my face and see it more clearly. 

“I got into a fight, but that’s none of your business.” I said, pushing his hand away as I threw my bag down on the ground next to me.

“Nico, you should really go to the nurse. Something more might be wrong than what it looks like.” he said.

“Just because i should doesn’t mean i will. You can’t force me to do what I don't want to do.” I said and fell silent, putting my headphones back in and waiting until our names were called to do the presentation before saying anything more.

 

It was an easy presentation and we ended up with an A-, so that was good, I guess. As soon as class was over, I was the first one out the door, just trying to get away. 

“Nico, wait!” Will called after me and i tried to lose him in the crowd but i clearly failed when I felt him grab onto my wrist, my injured wrist. I bit back a soft cry of pain, swallowing instead as him grabbing me caused me to have to stop.

“Let me go, Will!” 

“Nico, you weren’t in a fight, were you? Those seem like you didn’t fight back.” His voice is soft and full of worry. He’s loosened his grip but not completely let go.

“You try having people gang up on you.” I growled, yanking my wrist away finally, despite the pain it caused me as I gripped it with my other hand, rubbing it slightly as I glared at him. He was really concerned, that i could tell, and I knew he just wanted to help me, even though I couldn't let him get involved because of the consequences it would have. I couldn’t be angry at him for just wanting to do what was in his heart so I sighed a little as I turned away. 

“I’m fine, i promise. I’ve had worse done to me and I've ended up in the hospital. It's just some bruises and my wrist. There’s nothing the nurse can really do besides give me an ice pack. Just please leave me alone about it.” I turned and walked away, leaving him to get to class.

  
  


We had gym class later that day. By we, I mean Will and i had gym class. Unlike most schools, no one had to dress out in shorts or anything and no one ever did. We were supposed to be running the mile, something I wasn't looking forward to on account of my side hurting when i took deep breaths and whenever I had to sneeze or cough. I completely ignored Will and began running the mile, not really caring about my inability to breathe properly. My side hurt as I jogged, being a lot faster than Will was being because he had yet to pass me. I couldn't help but wonder why, since I knew he was pretty athletic even if he didn’t look it. 

After a while, I couldn’t keep jogging-the pain in my side was too much. I had to stop, pressing my hand against my side as I gasped for air. I couldn’t seem to get enough air and I was starting to get dizzy. I felt Will wrap and arm around my shoulder, concern on his face as he looked at me, probably asking me if i was ok but i was too dizzy and my ears didn’t want to work right.

  
  


The next thing I knew I was waking up in the nurse's office, Will by my side. I forced myself to sit up, ignoring Will telling me I should lie down.

“What happened? One minute you were fine and the next you’re having trouble breathing and you black out in my arms. Do you have asthma?” His voice was full of genuine concern. I tried to think of an excuse or something but I couldn't.

“No asthma. I don’t know what happened.” I said, shaking my head as I leaned on my knees, not looking at him and staring at the floor. As I moved, I couldn't help but wince at the pain in my side, gritting my teeth. 

“What is it?”

“My side. It's been hurting since yesterday night.” I said, deciding it was better to tell him rather than let him worry. His dad was a doctor and he’d probably learned a lot from him, especially if he was also going to be a doctor when he grew up.

“Where at?” I gestured to my right side, shrugging my hoodie off. I don’t know why I'm telling him any of this or trusting him at all, but I am and it's a strange feeling.


	5. Chapter 5

Will’s POV: 

 

“Will, dad just called.” I glanced up from my laptop from where i was messaging Lou and Cecil to see my half brother, Austin, standing in my doorway. He stayed with us sometimes but usually stayed with his mother. 

“What is it?” I asked, sensing an underlying tone in his voice that might now be good.

“He said it’s about your friend Nico.” Austin said. “He’s in the hospital. ICU.” I felt the blood drain from my face. ICU could only mean one thing and it wasn’t good. Had he gotten into another fight and gotten hurt? It was only two weeks since his last one and when he’d told me to leave him alone. I had, out of respect for his wishes no matter how hard it was or how much he plagued my thoughts 

“What happened? Do you know what happened?” Austin shook his head sadly, frowning.

“Dad doesnt know but he said Naomi was on her way home. She was one of the officers that was there when they found him.”  I nodded a little as I couldn't help but start pacing my room with worry. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. 

“I know you have to work, go. I’ll be ok.” I said to Austin as I paced, drumming my fingers against my legs as my ADHD took over, combined with the worry and making it impossible for me to stay still. He nodded a little, clearly worried about me, but did not question it as he turned and left. I heard him leave and after about an hour of me still pacing and unable to sit still, I heard another car pull up. I knew immediately it must be Mom and I sipped on my flip flops as i rna out my door and outside. 

“What happened to him?” I ask and she’s barely getting out of the car when I come outside, standing up, She still donned her Police Uniform, walkie-talkie and all so she was still on duty, technically. 

“Will...I-”

“I don't care. He’s my friend and i need to know. You can’t keep me in the dark.” I held up my hand and showed her how bad it was shaking from me not knowing-it was that bad and I couldn't get it to stop. “I can’t stop shaking, mom. You have to tell me.” 

“We got a report of screaming and loud noises and crashing, so me and my partner  went to go investigate.” I noticed her partner sitting in the car in the passenger seat. Mars (that’s what everyone called him) gave a slight nod to acknowledge me but nothing more. “It turns out it was Nico’s house. No one answered the door when we rang but we heard noises and someone shouting, so we kicked the door in. He was on the ground, barely conscious and his father was hitting him over and over and hurting him. We took him into custody and he;s back at the station being questioned. He’s going to the jail soon. Nico was in the ambulance and wasn’t being very responsive when they loaded him in. He had a broken arm and leg from what I could see and was covered in bruises and blood” Mom clearly wasn’t leaving out any details as she told me. She never did. She never sugarcoated things, never left out the gory details. She’d try to get out of explaining it but would never leave anything out when she had to explain.

I wasn’t expecting it to be that bad. I had assumed it was a car crash or something, not his sick father abusing him and trying to kill him.  

  
  
  


It was a lot to take in and I didn't get much sleep that night, tossing and turning and hoping he was ok. Dad called me every few hours to update me on what he could but that didn’t really comfort me either. Despite being an atheist, I couldn't help but pray to whoever might be out there-if there even was anyone out there who cared. I needed him to be ok. He may have been mostly and ass to me but i still couldn’t ignore the fact that, despite everything, i had developed feelings for him. He might not ever return them but i couldn’t have him die without telling him how i felt.

 

It was nearly two weeks before he was well enough to have visitors, even if he wasn’t quite awake yet. They’d put him in a medically induced coma because it was the only way to save his life at the time and he didn’t seem to want to be waking up. I was in my seventh period study hall when Mom, knowing my schedule, called me. I had my headphones in so no one could hear it ring as it interrupted my music and I stepped out in the hall to not disturb everyone as i answered her call.

“Hey, Ma. Whats up?”

“Your father called. Nico’s not awake yet, but he can have visitors.”

“So I can go visit him?”

“Yeah, if you’re willing to see how bad he is. It’s still pretty bad from my understanding but he can have visitors.”

 

When school got out, I was the first out of the classroom and out of the side door. I was the first  in the student parking lot and into the car. I tossed my bag into the seat next to me and took a deep breath, preparing myself for how bad he could look with all those injuries. Finally, I started the car and continued on the drive to the hospital, obeying all the traffic laws like i’d been taught, but at stops sighs that had no one else at them, i barely paused before continuing.

“Hello. I’m here to see Nico di Angelo.” I said to the lady at the desk.

“Name?” she asked, sounding like a person who deeply hated their job. 

“Will Solace.” I said, using my full name. She gave me a name sticker like they had to do at this hospital for some reason before giving me the room number and sending me back. Technically, she was supposed to walk me back but i didn’t care that she didn’t. 

I took a deep breath, calming myself before i pushed open his door and walked in. He was hooked up to various machines like a heart rate monitor, an IV, etc. He was in a hospital gown, covered by a thin sheet. I could see that his right arm was broken, as was his left leg. He even had a breathing mask on to help him and I could see his breath fog it up everytime he breathed out and defog whenever he breathed in.

Despite being as hurt as he was with all the injuries and bruises covering his body, Nico looked the most peaceful i had ever seen him look. He didn’t look stressed and on edge like he usually did and he just seemed like, for the first time in his life, he was calm and had no worries. I heard a soft groan and saw his head shift slightly as he blinked dark brown eyes open, looking around a little.

“Will…?” I heard him say just barely loud enough for me to hear. Before i could even think about the words that were coming out of my mouth, I was almost shouting at him

“Did you not even think about how i would feel if you had died or something? You may not believe it but you have lots of people who care about you and think you matter! You do matter! I could have helped you get out of there sooner! If only you’d told me but you’re stupid ass decided to wait until he was almost killed for me to find out. How dare you not tell me what he was doing to you?” I practically shouted at him, furious. “You’re a huge fucking idiot, you know that? I’m just glad you’re ok.” I lowered my voice in the end so I wasn't shouting any more and I went over to hug him, accidentally doing too tight.

“C-can’t breath…” He muttered and I immediately released him, scared i’d hurt him. Before i could ask, he spoke instead. “You didn’t hurt me, just pushed on my  ribs a little.” I cursed myself mentally for being so reckless. He had been seriously hurt and he might have died if Mom and Mars hadn’t gotten that call they did.

“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. I’m going to go get the doctor.” I said and I caught my dad right as he walked by the room. “He’s awake.” I heard him shout something at someone else down the hall but not exactly what was said as I had walked back in the room, pulling a chair up near Nico.

“Mr. di Angelo, it's good to see you’re awake.” My father said as he came in, tucking his clipboard under his arm.

“It’s Nico.” He grumbled a little.

“Well, it's good to see you have some memory there was some severe trauma to your head and we’re worried it might have lasting effects. What exactly do you remember? Do you know why you’re here in the hospital?”

“Same reason as every other time I've been in the hospital.” He snapped, clearly retaining his attitude despite being weak and injured.

“I’m only asking so we can know the extent of the damage done, there is no need to get upset.” my dad said, keeping his professional air. Nico hesitated before finally speaking.

“Where’s my papa?” He asked, seeming nervous.

“He is currently in jail, Nico.” Nico seemed to relax a lot more, as if a huge weight were taken off of his shoulders. “What do you remember?”

“H-he had just gotten home from a business trip and he was really angry about something. H-he...h-he did what he always did when he was angry...H-he used me as his punching bag. This was two weeks ago…” I listened as he told my dad everything from what had happened the past two weeks and what he remembered. None of it was good.

“We are going to have to alert the police that you have woken up. They..have to question you.” My father said. “And i can tell you want the breathing mask off but we’re not sure yet if you’re well enough yet. Although you are healing remarkably fast from such terrible injuries. It's very rare to heal as fast as you are.”

“I already know that.” Nico said. “Whatever has to be done for you guys to keep me alive.” 

“You are not going to die.” I said before my dad could speak. “Contrary to what you believe, you have a lot of people who care about you and dont want you to die or commit suicide, myself included.” When I looked up, I noticed that my dad had left to give us some time alone but after a while, the nurse came back in and replaced Nico’s IV bag. After she left, Nico and I sat in silence for a while before either of us spoke and I noticed he seemed kinda groggy and tired-probably the medicine in his IV bag.

“Do you really care about me?” He said, slurring his words slightly because he was so tired, yet seemed to refuse to go back to sleep

“Well, yeah. You’re my friend, aren’t you?” I said, cracking a half smile at him. He nodded a little and i saw his eyelids start to droop and his head nod to the side for a second before he forced his eyes open again.

“How...how do you tell someone that you like them?” He slurred again.

“You...just tell them, I guess, and if they don't like you back, you move on or try to. It's not as easy as it sounds to tell someone or to get over them either.`` I said softly.

“I like you.”

“See? Just like that. Who are you trying to tell?”

“I just did.” He said and was finally out like a light. I stared at him in shock, my gay little ass heart fluttering with hope. Did he actually mean it or was he just saying it because of the medication? I didn’t know but I'd have to ask him in the morning. I pushed his messy hair out of his eyes and let my hand linger on his head as I looked at his peaceful face before I had to leave.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico POV:

 

After waking up and getting questioned by Will’s dad, i don't remember much. I remember a nurse changing my IV bag and then im waking up and it's the next morning. My bag is changed again and i think my bedpan too...ew. I was left to sit in silence, alone for a little while before two police officers came in. I recognized one as Will’s mother.

“Good to see you’re healing ok alright, Nico.” She said, smiling as she pulled up a chair next to my bed. Her partner simply leaned against the wall behind her, crossing his arms over his chest. “His is my partner Mars. We just have to ask you some questions. As you know, your father is in jail due to what happened.”

“Where he should be.” I snapped.

“Yes, where he should be. How long as he been abusing you?”

“Since I was ten. It started after  we lost my mama and Bianca in a car crash back in italy.”

“Who’s Bianca?”

“My Sorella-Sister.” I answered.

“How has your father been abusing you? Verbally, Physically, or Sexually?”

“Verbally and physically. I wouldn’t be in the hospital if it wasn't physical.”

 

Questions went on for another hour or so, Naomi being the one to primarily ask the questions with Mars simply listening and only adding in once in a while. Finally, they were leaving and as Naomi was the last one out the door, Will came in.

“Hey.” He said, taking the chair she had just been in.

“Hey.” I replied simply. 

“So...uh...do you remember anything from last night after my dad left?” He asked,  a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

“No, why?”

“I-its….not important..” He looked away and down, sighing a little

“It clearly is if you asked. Tell me what happened.” And so he explained what had happened and what I had done while under the influence of medication. I grew bright red and i had to look away. I can't believe I had told him i like him.

“D-did you mean any of that?” He asked. I was silent for a moment before I spoke.

“As much as I hate to admit it, yes. I did mean it. But you’re probably straight anyways…” I mumbled.

“All have you know that I'm about as straight as a circle and i like you too.”

  
  
  


It was about another two weeks before I was well enough to be able to leave the hospital. After how badly I was hurt, they said it was a surprise to them that I seemed to be healing so quickly-it was rare for this to happen but not impossible. I hadn’t looked in the mirror at all during the past few days and i refused-i didn’t want to see how terrible I looked, all pale and sickly with my bruised, off color skin. Today, as I waited for whoever was going to come pick me up, I used my crutches to get into the bathroom and change my clothes. As i did, balancing on my good leg and leaning against the counter, I finally dared to look.

It nearly made me sick. Black and blue bruises covered my face, some of them turning a sickly green color as they healed. My nose was fresh out of a splint since he’d broken i and it had an odd bump on it since broken noses never returned to how they were and my eyes were more sunken in than usual. Before i risked throwing up what little I had forced myself to eat that morning, I looked away and finished pulling on my shirt. As I hobbled out of the bathroom and managed to sit down on my bed, completely not used to my crutches yet, i heard a knock on the open door frame of my room and looked up, seeing Will leaning against it. 

“Ready to go?” He asked with a soft smile as he came over. 

“I guess. Can you hand me my shoe? Its in the bag your mom brought me.” I gestured to the new, nice looking canvas backpack she had got me that was covered in skulls.It was nice of her to get it for me (since my other one was pretty threadbare.) and bring me some of my clothes too. He nodded and opened the bag to pull out the lone shoe (since I only needed one, on account of my cast), a pair of socks since i had none on, and my hoodie.

“Its raining pretty hard outside, i’d put your hoodie on so you don’t get sick.” He smiled a little as he helps me since it's a bit awkward for me to pull the sleeve of my hoodie over my cast and to bend down to pull the sock onto my foot one handed since I can't move my other hand much to use it. I hated having to feel so useless and rely on others like Will for help but it wasn’t like I had a choice

“Why doesn’t your shoe have laces?” he asked curiously, looking up at me from where he was kneeling on the floor to help me

“I took ‘em out. They were starting to fray to bits anyways. Plus, it’s easier  to get on and off.” I roll my eyes slightly at him as I simply use my foot to push the shoe onto the ground and then my foot into it, all within ten seconds. I pull myself up onto my crutches and managed to pull my new bag on before turning to Will.

“I could have gotten the bag for you.” He says, chuckling a little as he leads me from the room.

‘Well, i hate feeling so useless so i’m going to do what I can for myself.” I said, rolling my eyes a little as I hobble down the hall next to him. 

“You have to let people help you sometimes.” He said, pushing his blonde hair from his bright blue eyes. After the other day when we both basically confessed our feelings to each other, we had agreed to do no labels until we were absolutely sure of what we felt, because we were still a little unsure.

“Sadly, I know.” I rolled my eyes a little. “I honestly though Percy was going to come get me, since I'm technically moving in with him…”

“He called and said that the elevator went out in their building and it's going to be a few days before it’ll be fixed so my Ma and Pa said you can stay with us until then” I merely nodded, not really feeling the need to say more as we stepped into the elevator to go down to the lobby and then out into the parking lot.

“I know Percy can drive, but can you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at Will as he walked me around to my side of the car to help me with my crutches when I got in.

“I’m almost seventeen, I got my permit only a couple days after I turned 15, and my license on my sixteenth birthday. I’m pretty sure i can drive, Nico.” Will said as he opened my door and helped me get in, storing my crutches in the back seat along with my bag before closing my door. 

  
  


“If you want, you can have my room for the few days you’re here but if you think it’d be too much trouble to go up and down, the couch is an option.” Will said as he helped me inside the house. 

“I’ll just take the couch, i guess. I’ve gone up stairs with worse than this but i don’t want you to be stuck on the couch in your own house…”  I said as I sat down on the couch, glancing up at him. He shrugged a little as he sat down next to me.

“Are you hungry? I was thinking of ordering us a pizza.”

“I’m not really hungry to be honest.”

“Are you ever actually hungry? Whenever i see you eat, its barely anything. You’re, like, anorexic or something and that's not good, since you’re do underweight”

“I’m not anorexic. My body is just so used to living off of very little food thanks to how often that asshole fed me that if i eat a lot, i end up throwing it all back up.”

“Well, we’re going to work on. Slowly get you to eat more and build up your appetite. Even if you say you’re not hungry, you’re going to at least eat a little something until we get you eating normally. You don’t have a choice in this.” He said matter-of-factly as he pulled up the Dominos website.  “Anything specific you want? I was just going to get pepperoni like last time but it’s up to you.”

“It's been awhile since I had this one, but it was amazing. Get the garlic white sauce instead of the red one and add olives. The sauce 10 times better, I promise.” I said since i might as well while he was offering.

“Alrighty then.” He said and started to place the order. “One large pizza with Garlic sauce, olives, and pepperoni due here in about 45 minutes.” He hit send and set his phone down,  replacing it with the tv remote.

“Is there anything new at school while I was gone?” I asked as he flipped through some channels until he got to the movie ones to see if there was anything we wanted to watch since it was just the two of us.

“There’s a talent show coming up. I think your sister, Hazel, was going to enter. It was $200 for first prize, $100 for second, and $50 for third. Visa gift cards. But other than that, no. I was kinda thinking of entering, even though I'm not the best at anything. Are you gonna enter or maybe watch?”

“Yeah. For Hazel, that is. She’d love it if i was offering support from the crowd. What would you do if you entered? Disect a frog or something?” I joked since I knew he was going to go to med school when he grew up.

“No..” He rolled his eyes a little at my joke. “I’d probably do a song or something. I’m not as good as my brother Austin at any of that, but I think im decent.”

“When is the talent show, exactly?”

“In like a month or so.”

  
  
  


And, just like i said i would, i went to the talent show. I had already moved in with Percy about a month ago and I was still on my crutches. I didn’t see Will anywhere so i didn't know if he decided to enter or if he hadn’t come or something. Most of the acts were really stupid or people singing off key and tune, causing people to wince. Some of the more stupid ones were failed magic tricks and in all honesty, that was something you’d expect from an elementary schooler, not a high schooler, but whatever.

 

It was a long, boring time with so many acts, before the curtains opened again and I saw a familiar blonde seated on a stool in the middle of the stage with the mic positioned in front of him and an acoustic guitar perched on his knee. It was Will. 

“I’m dedicating this song to someone special. I hope you know who you are.” He said and took a deep breath before he started to play, strumming the guitar for a few seconds before he started to sing:

“ _ What day is it? And in what month? _

_ This clock never seemed so alive _

_ I can't keep up and I can't back down _

_ I've been losing so much time _

_ 'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do _

_ Nothing to lose _

_ And it's you and me and all of the people _

_ And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you.”  _

He sang into the mic, mostly focusing on his guitar than at the crowd-probably to keep from choking up or something. His voice was mesmerising and i couldn’t have looked away if i wanted to. 

“ _ All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right _

_ I'm tripping on words _

_ You've got my head spinning _

_ I don't know where to go from here. _

_ 'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do _

_ Nothing to prove _

_ And it's you and me and all other people _

_ And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you _

 

_ There's something about you now _

_ I can't quite figure out _

_ Everything he does is beautiful _

_ Everything he does is right” _

I knew the song, I'd heard it before and i knew he’d purposefully changed ‘she’ in the lyrics to ‘he,’ not that it really mattered much. I was staring in awe at how amazing he sang and, admittedly, how beautiful he looked. I knew who he was dedicating this to without a doubt.

 

“ _ 'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do _

_ Nothing to lose _

_ And it's you and me and all other people _

_ And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you _

_ And me and all other people with nothing to do _

_ Nothing to prove _

_ And it's you and me and all other people _

_ And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you _

 

_ What day is it? And in what month? _

_ This clock never seemed so alive _ .” 

He strummed the last few chords, finally looking up with a smile smile, his eyes immediately finding mine as the curtains closed. I was speechless.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


I don’t remember much of the talent show after Will left me speechless but i do know that whatever song Hazel sang was pretty good on her part. I couldn’t remember the title for the life of me or the lyrics but i do know she did an amazing job.

 

Once the last act was over and the winners were announced (none of which I paid attention to), I went to go find Hazel to congratulate her. She was in the hall outside of the auditorium with Frank, smiling happily as she had just pulled back from a kiss. She smiles and rushes over when she sees me. 

“What did you think?” She asks excitedly.

“You were amazing, sis.” I said with a soft smile as I hugged her with one arm so i didn’t fall. Over her shoulder, I saw Will smiling and talking with his parents and some of his friends I vaguely remembered to have seen as his laptop wallpaper-Cecil and Lou- who must’ve come to see him perform. I pulled back from Hazel, catching my crutch right as it would have fallen, startling Hazel as she’d been about to reach for it. 

“I’ll be back.” I said as I hobbled awkwardly over to Will and Co™. 

“Are you ever going to tell us who the song was for, Will?” I heard Cecil say. Will was about to respond, opening his mouth but turned with a small smile when he saw me.

“Oh, Hey Ni-” He couldn’t finish because I threw my good arm around his neck, dropping my crutch, and kissed him-all in one fluid motion and without a second thought. 

“Ooooooh. So thaaaaaaat’s whoooo.`` I heard someone, probably Lou, say in a sing song voice. I felt my face grow hot as I pulled back, not even really knowing what I'd just done as I stared at the floor.  _ Why did you do that? Why did you do that? In front of everyone? _

“Yeah…” I heard will let out a breath he must’ve been holding. “Well..uh..” I looked up nervously, seeing how red he was as he did a weird flourish thing with his hands. “I’m gay...” 

_ He wasn’t out yet… _ I thought, cursing myself. I honestly don't even know why i did what i did-it was so unlike me

“Hi Gay, i’m dad.” Lester said, sticking his hand out to Will, who just face palmed.


End file.
